"I know about Mikado Sanzenin's granddaughter, but this Saginomiya... is her family really that mysterious?"
"Yes, very mysterious," Shiro replied firmly, bag his statement with evidence.
"Saginomiya is a shrine maiden family. Historically, their main business revolved around shried work—specifically, exorcisms."
"Shiro, are you sure you're thinking straight?"
"I came to this clusion after a lot of research. Don't make it sound like I'm some fool who blindly believes in supernatural nonsense."
Tomoko's rea was natural, but even Shiro had found himself doubting his dedus at first. However, the deeper he iigated, the more apparent the truth became.
"Based on what I've found, the Self-Defense Forces often visit the Saginomiya family for certain matters."
"The Self-Defense Forces? Visiting the Saginomiya family?"
Tomoko couldn't her head around it.
The Saginomiya family she knew of was involved in industries like food, beverages, and tea produ. None of those businesses seemed signifit enough to warrant attention from the Self-Defense Forces.
"Not just the Self-Defense Forces," Shiro tinued, "but also high-ranking gover officials, renowned priests, onmyoji, and even public security officers from the isnd nation. Politis frequently visit the Saginomiya family for assistah certain... problems."
"If their businesses aren't directly helping those groups, then it's clear there's something else—something hidden—that draws them in."
"This... all sounds se."
Tomoko found herself increasingly baffled by Shiro's expnation.
The Saginomiya family's business ventures were respectable, but nothing about them seemed capable of influeng the upper echelons of politid public safety.
"Are you sure you're not being overly specutive?"
"No," Shiro replied, shaking his head. "This isn't specution. There's substantial evidence supp the notion that the Saginomiya family is far from ordinary."
"Promi figures from all walks of life respect them. Even well-known priests seem to defer to them."
"And acc to my research, Saginomiya trols 50% of certain industries in the try. What's more, no one petes with them for that share, it's as if it's been deliberately left for them."
Tomoko's eyes widened. "Fifty pert? And no one petes?"
"Yes. That portion of their industries remains untouched, as though it's an unspoken rule. It's enough to keep the Saginomiya family sistently ranked among the top families iion. Even the Sanzenin family could be shaken, but the Saginomiya family remains immovable."
"This... it's like some kind of rule," Shiro added.
The deeper he iigated, the more vinced he became that the Saginomiya family's position was deliberately maintained.
"This really is bizarre."
Hearing all of this, Tomoko couldn't help but feel uneasy.
The privileges afforded to the Saginomiya family seemed entirely out of the ordinary, and their retive anonymity among the general publily made them more enigmatic.
"A Sanzenin and a mysterious Saginomiya..." Tomoko mused. "Shiro, why do you think Mikado Sanzenin made a move against the Shinomiya family?"
"That... I 't say for sure."
Shiro wao give an answer, but even with all his dedus, the exact reasoning eluded him.
"Then why did you sound so fident earlier?"
"I was only analyzing the surface-level situation. How am I supposed to know what agreeme between two thirteen-year-old girls and a sixteen-year-old girl?"
"But ohing is certain, there's an i involved here. Mikado Sanzenin wouldn't act without a reason. My guess is that there's some sort of deal between Nagi Sanzenin and Kaguya Shinomiya."
"Do you think Mikado's granddaughter is helping Kaguya Shinomiya seize power?"
"Well... it's possible."
Tomoko's suggestion made Shiro pause, and he realized it wasn't far-fetched.
But there was one gring issue.
"Why, though?"
"What would Nagi gain from helping Kaguya Shinomiya seize power? That child already get whatever she wants. Why would she go out of her way to meddle in the Shinomiya family's affairs?"
This question stumped them both.
For someone like Nagi, who was born with everything, there seemed to be no reason for her to get involved in Kaguya's struggles.
Instinctively, Shiro felt that the reason behind it was crucial, but with the limited information avaible, he couldn't reach a definitive clusion.
"All we do now is wait and observe."
"If Nagi is helping Kaguya seize power, then Kaguya will likely fulfill her part of the deal after gaining trol."
As he spoke, Shiro loosehe tie around his neck.
"We o uand the true motive behind this."
"Is that really necessary?"
"Yes, absolutely," Shiro said firmly.
"I have a feeling that whatever agreement they've made is extremely important. And uanding it could be vital for us."
Years of experien the business world had sharpened Shiro's instincts. He khat the agreemeween those girls wasn't trivial. It was signifit enough fi Sanzenin to involve Mikado Sanzenin and apply such overwhelming pressure on the Shinomiya family.
For now, all he could do was suppress his impatiend tinue iigating while waiting for more information.
---
"I'm home!"
The sound of their daughter's voiterrupted the couple's versation.
"Dad, Mom, why are you sitting in the living room looking so serious?"
Sonoko entered, curious about the heavy atmosphere.
"Is it about the business?"
"Go away, stop jumping to clusions the moment you walk in!" Tomoko snapped, rolling her eyes at her daughter.
"You've been running around all weekend. Tell me, where exactly have you been?"
Despite giving their daughter plenty of freedom, Tomoko couldn't help but feel curious about Sonoko's whereabouts.
"Obviously, I've been with Ran," Sonoko replied.
"Yesterday, Rao Tropical Land with Kudo, so I went early to keep an eye on them."
"Turns out Tropical Land is more popur than I thought. Not just Ran, even that ice queeo like it."
"Ice Queen? Do you have a friend like that?"
Tomoko looked at Sonoko in surprise.
"Ah, I'm talking about Kaguya Shinomiya."
"Doesn't she always keep that cold, frozen expression? Just standio her makes me feel chilly, so I call her Ice Queen."
